12-14,
Portuguese Pavilion, Bogotá International Book Fair 2013
The Bogotá Book Fair is one of the city’s foremost cultural events. It receives thousands of visitors daily and each year the fair is dedicated to a guest of honour. Portugal was the country chosen for the 2013 event. The country’s presence was housed in a 3,000 sq. m pavilion, in which it presented its culture and literature.
The pavilion’s architectural design was to a large extent determined by its condition of a body within another body. The pavilion provided for four types of spaces: three exhibition rooms, a bookshop, an auditorium and a space for children and youths.
Based on the theme ‘from my language you can see the sea’ (Vergílio Ferreira), the idea of horizontal space becomes the element that brings together the various programmatic needs and the desire to have a spatial continuum. The horizon is unimpeded, in between the 1.50 m high walls and a ceiling consisting of long white strips that de ne the pavilion’s various zones. The design strategy was inspired by the construction of a ceiling that simultaneously meets the following functions: concealing the existing ceiling; substantially improving the acoustics in the pavilion; configuring the volumetrics of each themed space; and allowing for indirect and diffused lighting.
The design was developed in three months, construction lasted two weeks and the pavilion was open to the public for 15 days.
The pavilion’s architectural design was to a large extent determined by its condition of a body within another body. The pavilion provided for four types of spaces: three exhibition rooms, a bookshop, an auditorium and a space for children and youths.
Based on the theme ‘from my language you can see the sea’ (Vergílio Ferreira), the idea of horizontal space becomes the element that brings together the various programmatic needs and the desire to have a spatial continuum. The horizon is unimpeded, in between the 1.50 m high walls and a ceiling consisting of long white strips that de ne the pavilion’s various zones. The design strategy was inspired by the construction of a ceiling that simultaneously meets the following functions: concealing the existing ceiling; substantially improving the acoustics in the pavilion; configuring the volumetrics of each themed space; and allowing for indirect and diffused lighting.
The design was developed in three months, construction lasted two weeks and the pavilion was open to the public for 15 days.
